Shoe



Sept. 28, 1943. c. T\NEEDIE 2,330,459

SHOE

Filed Oct. 6, 1941 Patented Sept. 28, 1943 I I SHOE Charles'iweedie, Jefferson: city, fivr z i' Application October 6, 194 11, -saa1, ew I 2 Claims. (o1.1'1;2 2s2;)

U My invention relates to the .problem of sewing two pieces of sheet material together in edge- Wise relation and especially with the problem of uniting an elastic webbing tape to the top edge of the main stretchable member of a shoe upper. I

, longitudinaltline: of: :the. inaterialxandis adapted Its principal objects are: to devise a reinforced system of stitching that will hold the abutting edges of the material together tight, an-d which will prevent gapping of the abutting edges and.

Will minimize the danger of tearing or fraying ,of the material and whichalso will permit longitudinal-stretching of the seam. The invention consists principally in. aseam construction of. the

lock stitch type that comprises three rows of stitches made With a singleneedle thread and 'a. single bobbin thread, the stitches in each. row

being disposed in, zigzagrelation" to each-other and being staggered .withrelation tothe stitches of the adjacent row and with the stitches of. the middle row extending. across the abutting. edges of the pieces. to be united. It also consists in the application of this system of stitching for uniting an elastic webbing tape to a shoe upper member in edgewise abutting relation, especially where such upper member is made of stretchable leather or elasticized material.

In the accompanying drawing which forms part of this specification and wherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary face view of the shoe upper in the region of the foot opening; and

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2.

Where two pieces of sheet material are to be sewed together, it is the usual practice to have the margin of one piece lap the margin of the other and to have the needle pierce the material as far back from the edgeof the material asmay be necessary to prevent tearing or fraying of the material in service. This practice results in the lapping or folding back of the margins of the material, with the lapped or folded material forming ribs that may be quite objectionable, especially in footwear. By sewing the pieces together in edgewise abutting relation, formation of such objectionable ribs may be avoidedand smaller pieces of material are required than are required in the present common practice; but, in

such case the requisites of the stitching are more exacting, especially when the material is stretchable.

lij

According to the present invention, :the-ttwopieces to be--united;are1-;fed :in pedgewisesa'butting;

relationvtovthe stitching "mechanism :of ,alockstitch :sevwing' :maehine swihichiis-equipped with a. needle that vibrates or swings crosswisexz of. the

to form 1a....grou X of three stitches it. 2,33 flextending qcrosswise" 111 one direction. followed immediately' 'by; aggroup :o'f threestitehes 1, 25,, 6 extending; crosswis'esimthenopposite'dltettiomandi so on. backeandxfortlr; all ofathe: stitches being oblique :with. respectqto :the line of reed? and. being. disposed ingthmee' longitudinal? rows, na-nriely, aamiddlercw'fA andatwozsidezrows B,.IC. I

nal row. The general pattern of the stitching may be'considered as made up vof two rows of diamonds or squares with the stitches of the middle row constituting sides that are common to the diamonds of both rows.

On account of the stitches of a transverse group being of an odd number and disposed 'zigzagwise, the first-formed endmost stitch of each transverse group follows immediately after the last-formed stitch of the preceding transverse group, while the last-formed endmost stitch immediately precedes the first-formed stitch of the next following transverse group. Thus, the point of beginning of the first stitch of a transverse group is the Width of said group in advance of the endpoint of the last stitch of said group.

Six stitches aremade in each cycle of operation. For instance, beginning with stitch I in outer row B, the sequence is: stitch 2 in middle row A, stitch 3 in outer row C, stitch 4 in 'outer row C, stitch 5 in middle row A and stitch 6 in outer row B, stitches I, 2 and 3 being in' transverse group X and stitches 4, 5 and Bbeing in transverse groupY, and the point of begingroups of stitches X and Y. Preferably, informing the inner ends of the outer or anchor stitches,

thatof the: outer the needle passes through the same hole used in making the ends of the inner stitches.

In applying the system of stitching above described, the two pieces D, E of material to be joined, say, a piece of stretchable leather or elasticized material constituting the main member D of a shoe upper and a piece of elastic webbing tape E are fed to the stitching mechanism in edgewise abutting relation and in such position that the stitches of the middle w row A extend across the abutting edges of the two pieces with their ends anchored to said pieces respectively.

The stitches of one outer row C are anchored entirely in one of the pieces of material, say the main member D of the upper, and the stitches of the other outer row B are anchored entirely in the other piece, namely, the tape E. In the shoe F illustrated in the drawing, one of the pieces is the main member D of the upper of the shoe and the other piece E is a strip of elastic extending along the foot opening and united to said main member in edgewise abutting relation with the stitches of the middle row extending across the abutting edges of said main member and said elastic strip.

7 The outer row of stitches are not merely ornamental; they serve important mechanical functions. Thus, in making the middle stitch, it may happen occasionally'that the needle may pierce the material so. close to its edge that the material is liable to tear or fray under a transverse stress arising from ordinary condition of service. With my system of stitching, a considerable portion of the transverse stress on the middle stitch is transmitted to one or both of the two adjacent stitches in one or both of the outer rows. In this way, the unit stress on the material is greatly lessened and a considerable portion of the total stress is applied at points where the material is amply able to resist it. In case the needle should cut the edge of the material.

Which heretofore would have entailed liability to gapping of the seam and probably involved the scrapping of the work, especially when leather is used, my system of stitching prevents gapping of the seam and avoids such scrapping because each end of a middle stitch is guyed or steadied by two outer rows of stitches converging at said end. For a similar reason, any tendency of the material to lap or wrinkle endwise due to stretching is minimized.

What I claim is:

l. A shoe comprising an upper material having a strip of elastic material secured thereto in edgewise abutting relation by a single line of stitching consisting of successive transverse zones of three stitches each that extend from one side of the abutting edges of said materials to the other side of said abutting edges, each of said transverse zones including substantially parallel outer stitches located directly opposite each other one i on each side of said abutting edges and disposed at oblique angles thereto and a middle stitch connecting said outer stitche and extending at a reverse oblique angle thereto across said abutting edges, the corresponding stitches of alternate transverse zones inclining in opposite directions, each of the outer stitches of each transverse zone converging toward and meeting the outer stitch of an adjacent transverse zone at the outer end thereof.

2. A shoe comprising an upper material having a strip of elastic material secured thereto in edgewise abutting relation by a single line of stitching consisting of three zones of stitches arranged zigzagwise longitudinally of the abutting edges of said material to form two interlocking longitudinal rows of closed diamonds with the stitches of the middle zone uniting the upper material to thestrip of elastic material and constitutin the inner sides of the diamonds of both rows.

CHARLES TWEEDIE. 

